Hundreds of federal workers have been caught watching porn on the job, including viewing child pornography, according to a new investigation.

NBC News 4 in Washington, D.C., identified over 100 "egregious" cases during the past five years where federal employees watched porn for hours during the day or required an inspector general investigation into their porn habits at work. The report relied on records obtained through Freedom of Information Act from 12 separate government agencies.

"The cases include workers who admitted spending six hours a day surfing illicit images and videos and maintaining tens of thousands of adult images on their office desktops," the report said.

The investigation revealed over 20 cases at the Justice Department during the past two years, and numerous cases at the Environmental Protection Agency.

The report includes the notorious case of an EPA employee in the Office of Air and Radiation who, while earning a $120,000 salary, watched porn between two and six hours every day and received bonuses.

The employee said that "‘a lot' of his time each workday is spent ‘organizing' the pornography he downloaded into saved folders," according to the records obtained by NBC News 4.

The report noted that although being caught watching porn "opens employees to possible disciplinary action," including being fired, several agencies said penalties are "flexible" and can carry just a written reprimand.

Fighting to keep 22-year-old DREAMer Daniela Vargas from deportation, her lawyers are in a race against time.They were preparing special documents Thursday night, hoping to stop the expedited deportation of Vargas, which could happen as early as Friday.Vargas came into the United States on a visa waiver program. Because of the stipulations of that program she could be deported without a hearing in front of a federal immigration judge.Her attorneys are working to prepare a package with personal statements about Vargas from people who know her, in hopes of it landing in sympathetic hands that will grant her a trial instead of immediate deportation.More

President Donald Trump will ask Congress to cut the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) budget 24 percent, or nearly $2 billion, according to sources familiar with the budget plans.

The White House sent draft budget plans to agency heads Monday, detailing billions of dollars in cuts to a wide range of federal programs. Cuts to EPA and other agencies will fund a $54 billion increase in defense spending.

A source informed of the budget plans told E&E News Trump will push for a nearly $2 billion cut to EPA’s $8.1 billion budget. A source told Politico Trump also “proposed reducing EPA’s 15,000-strong workforce to 12,000, a level not seen since the mid-1980s.”

“You’re going to have to make reductions,” Myron Ebell, director of global warming and energy policy at the libertarian Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), told The Daily Caller News Foundation.

Officials in the Obama administration reportedly spent Barack Obama's final few days in office spreading their message internally that President Trump's associates had maintained inappropriate ties to Russian officials during the campaign, an allegation that neither the Obama administration nor the Trump administration has publicly substantiated.

Obama administration officials also sought to preserve evidence of what they characterized as Russia's attempts to influence the election by hacking into Democrats' email accounts, according to a New York Timesreport issued late Wednesday.

The Times cited three former government officials in its assertion that British and Dutch intelligence officials had given the U.S. government evidence of what they said was a series of meetings between Russian officials and Trump associates.

The Trump White House has denied that any aide close to the president ever had ties to the Kremlin during the campaign or transition. White House press secretary Sean Spicer has said he is not aware of any law enforcement investigation into such ties.

When Omarosa Manigault, the former “Celebrity Apprentice” antihero-turned-White House adviser, needs to talk to President Donald Trump, she simply strolls into the Oval Office.

As assistant to the president and director of communications for the office of public liaison, Manigault enjoys what Trump aides refer to as walk-in privileges — meaning she doesn’t need an appointment or permission to pop her head in and consult with the leader of the free world.

Her level of easy access marks a break from the previous administration, where President Barack Obama and his gatekeeper chiefs of staff kept at bay the number of aides, even senior officials, who simply walked in without an appointment. In contrast, Trump may have set up the most accessible Oval Office in modern history.

Possibly the funniest story in a long while. This is a bricklayer'saccident report, which was printed in the newsletter of the Australianequivalent of our Workers' Compensation board.

This is a true story. Had this guy died, he'd have received a Darwin Awardfor sure....

Dear Sir,

I am writing in response to your request for additional information in Block 3 of the accident report form. I put 'poor planning' as the cause of my accident.. You asked for a fuller explanation, and I trust the following details will be sufficient:

I am a bricklayer by trade. On the day of the accident, I was working alone on the roof of a new six-story building. When I completed my work, I found that I had some bricks left over which, when weighed later were found to be slightly in excess of 500 lbs. Rather than carry the bricks down by hand, I decided to lower them in a barrel by using a pulley, which was attached to the side of the building on the sixth floor.

Securing the rope at ground I went up to the roof, swung the barrel out and loaded the bricks into it. Then I went down and untied the rope, holding it tightly to ensure a slow descent of the bricks. You will note in Block 11 of the accident report form that I weigh 135 lbs. Due to my surprise at being jerked off the ground so suddenly, I lost my presence of mind and forgot to let go of the rope. Needless to say, I proceeded at a rapid rate up the side of the building. In the vicinity of the third floor, I met the barrel, which was now proceeding downward at an equally impressive speed.

This explained the fractured skull, minor abrasions and the broken collar bone, as listed in section 3 of the accident report form. Slowed only slightly, I continued my rapid ascent, not stopping until the fingers of my right hand were two knuckles deep into the pulley.

Fortunately by this time I had regained my presence of mind and was able to hold tightly to the rope, in spite of beginning to experience pain. At approximately the same time, however, the barrel of bricks hit the ground and the bottom fell out of the barrel. Now devoid of the weight of the bricks, that barrel weighed approximately 50 lbs. I refer you again to my weight.

As you can imagine, I began a rapid descent, down the side of the building. In the vicinity of the third floor, I met the barrel coming up. This accounts for the two fractured ankles, broken tooth and several lacerations of my legs and lower body.

Here my luck began to change slightly. The encounter with the barrel seemed to slow me enough to lessen my injuries when I fell into the pile of bricks and fortunately only three vertebrae were cracked.

I am sorry to report, however, as I lay there on the pile of bricks, inpain, unable to move, I again lost my composure and presence of mind and let go of the rope and I lay there watching the empty barrel begin its journey back down onto me. This explains the two broken legs. I hope this answers your inquiry.

FORT KNOX, KY. (WAVY) — Corrective measures have been taken on members of a locally based special warfare group after cellphone video surfaced last month showing a military vehicle flying a President Donald Trump campaign flag.

Lt. Jacqui Maxwell, public affairs officer for Naval Special Warfare Group TWO, confirmed to 10 On Your Side in a statement Thursday that “administrative corrective measures” were taken with each person responsible.

Here’s the full statement from Naval Special Warfare Group TWO:

"The inquiry was completed between the unit’s commanders and service members. It has been determined that those service members have violated the spirit and intent of applicable DoD regulations concerning the flying of flags and the apparent endorsement of political activities. Administrative corrective measures were taken with each individual based on their respective responsibility.”

Jeff Sessions is an honest man. He did not say anything wrong. He could have stated his response more accurately, but it was clearly not intentional. This whole narrative is a way of saving face for Democrats losing an election that everyone thought they were supposed to win. The Democrats are overplaying their hand. They lost the election and now, they have lost their grip on reality. The real story is all of the illegal leaks of classified and other information. It is a total witch hunt!

And just like that, the "conciliatory" Donald Trump wjp emerged on Tuesday evening, and who sent the Dow soaring above 21,000 begins to fade away. Meanwhile, Sessions' recusal remains very much inadequate to at least 123 Democrats, as the various Russian conspiracy theories continue to run amok both within the NYT-WaPo-CIA leak triangle, and pretty much everywhere else in government.

DAGSBORO — Fun and fundraising for two worthy causes takes place under one roof this Saturday, March 4.

The Dagsboro Volunteer Fire Department and the Good Ole Boy Foundation are teaming up again for the third edition of Pull’n, Peel’n, Pick’n. The event for adults 21-and-over will run from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. at the Dagsboro Fire Hall on Clayton Avenue.

The Bo Dickerson Band, a smash hit at last year’s event, returns for an encore performance.

Donations are funneling for silent and live auctions.

Pulled pork prepared by Hocker’s BBQ and shrimp steamed to perfection by the Showell Volunteer Fire Company’s shrimp-steaming crew headline an all-you-can-eat menu feast that includes numerous side dishes and fixings.

DOVER — The estranged wife of former Vice President Joe Biden’s youngest son, Hunter Biden, claims he squandered the couple’s money on drugs, alcohol and prostitutes since the couple separated in 2015.

In a court filing last week, Kathleen Buhle Biden asked a Washington, D.C. judge to order Hunter Biden to stop spending the couple’s remaining assets.

“Throughout the parties’ separation, Mr. Biden has created financial concerns for the family by spending extravagantly on his own interests (including drugs, alcohol, prostitutes, strip clubs, and gifts for women with whom he has sexual relations) while leaving the family with no funds to pay legitimate bills,” wrote Rebekah Sullivan, a lawyer for Kathleen.

A case of US governmental meddling in the political affairs of a foreign ally previously investigated by Congress appears to have also been part of a scheme to launder taxpayer money and use it to fund the presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton, a crowdsourced investigation online has revealed. The effort has revealed that organizations tied to high ranking members of Shareblue and its holding company conspired with John Kerry's Department of State to use taxpayer funds in an effort to unseat Benjamin Netanyahu as the Prime Minister of Israel. The funds appear to potentially have then been laundered and returned via a campaign consulting group tied to former President Barack Obama, ultimately being used to fund the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton.

I. Funds Passed From The Department Of State Were Used By OneVoice In An Attempt To Unseat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Peter Daou is the CEO of Shareblue’s holding company, True Blue Media LLC. Mr. Daou played an integral role in the site’s transformation from True Blue Media to Shareblue. Mr. Daou was also a former advisor to Hillary Clinton, John Kerry and former Senator Arlen Specter. His website reveals that he has also advised the Clinton Foundation, the now shuttered Clinton Global Initiative, the U.S. Department of Energy, the United Nations Foundation, Microsoft, Intel, AARP, Inc., Action Against Hunger, PR Newswire and Bloomberg Philanthropies, two news organizations which both have close ties to the City of London-based UBM plc.

The Joint Committee on Legislative Ethics on Thursday recommended a formal reprimand of Baltimore County Del. Dan Morhaim for failing to disclose his relationship with a medical marijuana firm while also helping to create the state's medical marijuana program.

The committee wrote that while they believe Morhaim "now recognizes the impact his conduct has had on himself and the General Assembly," they unanimously recommended that House Speaker Michael Busch submit a resolution of reprimand to the floor.

In a letter to fellow delegates Thursday, Morhaim wrote he accepted the committee's decision and apologized for bringing the body and himself "into a negative light," though he maintained he did nothing wrong.

"No one complained to the Ethics Committee. Instead, I voluntarily reported the facts in a letter to the Committee last summer. I also publicly announced I would refrain from legislative involvement in any medical cannabis issues. And I have," Morhaim wrote. "Many news outlets wrote and are still writing erroneous articles suggesting I did not make the required disclosures. But I had."

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Thursday blasted House Republicans for keeping their ObamaCare repeal and replace legislation under wraps.

“I have been told that the House Obamacare bill is under lock & key, in a secure location, & not available for me or the public to view,” Paul tweeted.

“This is unacceptable. This is the biggest issue before Congress and the American people right now.”

The House Energy and Commerce Committee's new bill is being kept in a “dedicated reading room,” Bloomberg reported, where it will be available to members of the panel ahead of a markup. The move is an effort to prevent leaks.

Obama's goal is to oust Trump from the presidency either by forcing his resignation or through his impeachment, The Daily Mail reports according to a family friend. To help him "lead the fight and strategy to topple Trump" his longtime consigliere, Valerie Jarrett, has moved into The Obama's house with them in Washington.

Barack Obama is getting closer to making his public reappearance in politics, his friend and former Attorney General Eric Holder said on Tuesday.

Holder said he’s been talking to the former president about ways — including fundraising and interacting with state legislators — that could help the new National Democratic Redistricting Committee, which Obama asked Holder to chair last year.

“It’s coming. He’s coming,” Holder said, speaking to reporters at a briefing for the new group. “And he’s ready to roll.”

Throughout, Holder said, Obama “will be a more visible part of the effort.”

WASHINGTON — Maryland law enforcement officers who spend their days — and nights — pulling drunken drivers off the roads are growing frustrated with the number of repeat offenders.

“When is enough, enough?” said Montgomery County Police Capitain Tom Didone during a House Judiciary Committee in Annapolis this week.

Didone testified on House bill 371, which would make repeat drunken driving a felony in Maryland.

The law would kick in if a driver has been found to have three prior drunken driving convictions or a conviction in a crash that caused death or life-threatening injuries. Forty-six states have felony drunken driving laws. Maryland and D.C. do not.

Janet L. Yellen, the Federal Reserve chairwoman, said Friday that the Fed was likely to raise its benchmark interest rate this month, barring any unpleasant economic surprises.

Ms. Yellen’s declaration, in a speech in Chicago, capped an intensification in the Fed’s communication in recent days as officials put investors on notice that a rate increase was coming sooner than had been widely expected.

“At our meeting later this month, the committee will evaluate whether employment and inflation are continuing to evolve in line with our expectations, in which case a further adjustment of the federal funds rate would likely be appropriate,” Ms. Yellen said, referring to the Fed’s policy-making arm, the Federal Open Market Committee.

Former President George W. Bush and former first lady Michelle Obama shared 'a genuine expression of affection' for one another during that moment when they were photographed embracing in Washington last September, the 43rd commander-in-chief said on Thursday.

Bush told People that he developed a lighthearted rapport with the former first lady, who took a liking to his sense of humor.

Bush, 70, and Obama, 53, found time to strike up a friendship while seated next to one another during official events, like the recent opening of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture and Nancy Reagan's funeral.

WASHINGTON D.C. — A giant defense firm may be passing off another company’s equipment as its own, which could have played a role in a potentially corrupt U.S. arms sale to Kenya that the State Department approved on the Obama administration’s last day in office.

Breitbart News has obtained photos of L-3 Technologies using marketing materials at a recent international defense conference featuring a small plane produced by IOMAX USA, Inc., a small, disabled-veteran-owned company based in North Carolina.

The photos show an L-3 banner and poster at their booth at the 2017 International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX) in February featuring IOMAX’s “Archangel” aircraft — an armed crop-duster-like aircraft used by U.S. partners for border patrol, surveillance, and close air support.

L-3 passing off the aircraft as its own could potentially explain how it got exclusive approval for a lucrative $418 million contract to produce 14 such planes for the Kenya Defense Forces, despite never having produced the planes before and IOMAX’s ability to produce them for much less.

Under the contract, Kenya would spend $364.4 million on the aircraft and $53.6 million on other services. The IOMAX representative said it could produce the planes for $237 million — about $127.4 million less than L-3.

Mexican drug cartels overwhelmingly are driving heroin consumption in the United States, which is now at a historic high, the State Department said in a report released Thursday.

An estimated 90 to 94 percent of all heroin consumed in the United States comes from Mexico, a problem that has been exacerbated by an increase in the trafficking of fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid, by the same Mexican drug cartels that move heroine and cocaine into America, according to the State Department.

William Brownfield, assistant secretary of state for international narcotics and law enforcement affairs, told reporters on a call Thursday that fentanyl is proving attractive to Mexican cartels because it is a low-cost, easily scalable drug to smuggle across the U.S.-Mexican border.

Drug traffickers are able to increase the potency of heroin they bring into the United States by lacing it with fentanyl at a low cost, making the drug "exceptionally dangerous" in America, according to Brownfield.More

When people publicly rage about perceived injustices that don't affect them personally, we tend to assume this expression is rooted in altruism—a "disinterested and selfless concern for the well-being of others." But new research suggests that professing such third-party concern—what social scientists refer to as "moral outrage"—is often a function of self-interest, wielded to assuage feelings of personal culpability for societal harms or reinforce (to the self and others) one's own status as a Very Good Person.

Outrage expressed "on behalf of the victim of [a perceived] moral violation" is often thought of as "a prosocial emotion" rooted in "a desire to restore justice by fighting on behalf of the victimized," explain Bowdoin psychology professor Zachary Rothschild and University of Southern Mississippi psychology professor Lucas A. Keefer in the latest edition of Motivation and Emotion. Yet this conventional construction—moral outrage as the purview of the especially righteous—is "called into question" by research on guilt, they say..More here

OCEAN CITY — If new regulations are going to be in place prohibiting bow-riding in Ocean City this summer, it will have to be approved as legislation and not by regulation as originally planned.

In the wake of several serious boating accidents in the resort last summer, including a fatal propeller strike that claimed the life of a child last August, Ocean City’s representatives in Annapolis, including Senator Jim Mathias and Delegate Mary Beth Carozza, began discussions in earnest with state boating officials, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and its enforcement wing the Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) about tightening the dangerous practice of bow-riding.

Almost immediately after last August’s tragic fatality, Mathias was approached by a long-time veteran NRP officer who expressed a desire to get something stronger on the books regarding bow-riding. As it stands now, there is no specific language in state law regarding bow-riding and it is mired somewhat in the larger citation of reckless operation.

A massive sewage spill in Tijuana that polluted beaches in San Diego County this month may have been no accident, according to state and local officials.

In a preliminary estimate, officials said about 143 million gallons of raw sewage spewed into the Tijuana River during a period of more than two weeks that ended Thursday. While cross-border sewage spills of a few million gallons are routine for the region, this is one of the largest such events in the last two decades, according to water quality experts in San Diego.

People from Tijuana to as far north as Coronado have been complaining of foul odors for weeks, prompting lawmakers in San Diego County to contact federal regulators as well as agencies in Mexico.

The U.S. regulators said their Mexican counterparts have given little explanation. Mexican officials also haven’t responded to requests for comment for this story since Monday. .

The Congressional Black Caucus PAC (CBC PAC) spends lavishly on upscale resorts and hotels, catering at exclusive restaurants, and on fundraising and Broadway tickets, according to a review of campaign finance records.

The CBC PAC, which is the fundraising arm of the Congressional Black Caucus, puts far more money towards administrative and fundraising purposes than it donates to candidates, the intended purpose of the political action committee.

The CBC PAC claims its mission is to increase "the number of African Americans in the U.S. Congress" and to "support non-Black candidates that champion our interests, and promote African American participation in the political process-with an emphasis on young voters," according to its website.

The PAC spent hundreds of thousands throughout the 2016 election cycle on administrative expenses that included bills for lavish trips that were paid by the committee.

Almost 90 percent of the nightly news broadcasts during President Donald Trump's first month in office presented negative reporting of his administration, according to a new analysis.

The Media Research Center concluded that the three major national news networks dedicated 54 percent of their time, or 16 hours, reporting on the president and his staff. Of that reporting, 88 percent of it was negative.

Last year during the presidential campaign, the Media Research Center found that 91 percent of the reporting on Trump was negative during the three major national news broadcasts.

With 19 states raising the minimum wage at the beginning of 2017, it seems that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) "Fight for 15" campaign is becoming a reality.

While Democrats have been wholeheartedly behind the movement to increase the minimum wage, now Republican lawmakers are increasingly leaving the door open to minimum wage increases. The prevailing argument in favor of raising the minimum wage is that a higher minimum wage would reduce poverty and alleviate income inequality.

So, what does the empirical research reveal about the effectiveness of the minimum wage to reduce poverty?

From a lawmaker’s perspective, setting a higher minimum wage seems to be a viable remedy for lifting families out of poverty. However, it is important to note that the minimum wage targets individual low-wage workers, not low-income families. The merits of using minimum wage as a tool to combat poverty depend on the level at which poor families benefit from such policy changes.

The statistics show that the relationship between being a low-wage worker and a low-income family is very weak. In fact, data from CPS suggests that the majority of poor families with heads of household of prime working age simply don’t work, so a minimum wage has no impact on these families.

What’s more, a sizable proportion of low-wage workers are new entrants to the labor force, such as teenagers, who are not necessarily in low-wage families. Taking these facts into consideration, basic calculations indicate that a sizable share of benefits derived from a minimum wage increase does not go to impoverished families.

In fact, if the federal minimum wage was hiked from $7.25 to $10.10, only 18 percent of resultant increases in income would go to poor families (based on 2010-2014 data), meanwhile 32 percent would go to families with incomes more than three times the poverty line. With a $15 minimum wage the corresponding figures would be 12 percent and 38 percent, respectively.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — The Maryland House on Thursday voted in favor of a bill that repeals language in Maryland’s Family Law prohibiting decisions in domestic violence proceedings from being admitted as evidence in divorce court. The bill passed with no dissenting votes.

Current Maryland law states that divorce courts cannot consider decisions or orders made in district or circuit courts when hearing divorce proceedings.

Divorce courts can consider abuse as a reason for divorce, but not protective orders, which are given in cases of physical abuse such as rape and assault, or stalking.

A Worcester County Circuit Court jury took less than 45 minutes last Thursday to find all parties negligent in the fatal Nov. 8, 2013 accident on Route 113, where State Police Trooper Nicholas Hager ran into teenagers Tymeir Dennis and Tyheim Bowen with his unmarked patrol car.

No damages were awarded to the plaintiffs, who filed suit against the State of Maryland in September 2015.

Dennis, 16, did not survive the crash. According to the investigation report, he suffered massive injuries to his head, back and other areas of his body.

Bowen, 17 at the time of the incident, had a leg amputated because of his injuries. He suffered a broken leg, dislocated right knee, fractured pelvis, a cut on his lower right leg and abrasions on his right arm.

He was transferred to Peninsula Regional Medical Center on the night of the accident and later moved to Shock Trauma.

No criminal charges were filed against Hager, 21 at the time of the incident, and he returned to duty on Nov. 12, 2013 — four days after the crash. Hager had only been a trooper for one year at the time of the crash.

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), the new deputy chairman of the Democratic National Committee, and the first Muslim elected to Congress, has a plan to recruit additional Muslim lawmakers like him -- including possible candidates sponsored by a terror-tied Islamist group for which he helped raise millions of dollars, according to a source who once prayed alongside him in the basement of the Capitol.

Ellison has held Friday, or jummah, prayers with other Muslims, including staffers from the Congressional Muslim Staff Association and officials from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), in a prayer room, or musallah, in the lower level of the Capitol building.

Democrats and the media are once again targeting Attorney General Jeff Sessions — this time, over allegations that he met twice with the Russian ambassador during the 2016 presidential campaign.

The Washington Post reports that Sessions met Sergey Kislyak once at a Heritage Foundation event in July 2016, where other ambassadors were also present. It also reports that Sessions met with Kislyak in his Senate office in September, in his capacity on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

The hook on which the Post attempts to hang Sessions is that he did not disclose the meetings to the Senate when he was asked about “possible contacts between members of President Trump’s campaign and representatives of Moscow.” Sessions’s spokesperson at the Department of Justice, Sarah Isgur Flores, says his answer in January was truthful because he was asked about “the Trump campaign — not about meetings he took as a senator and a member of the Armed Services Committee.”

The Post does not provide the full transcript of the question, from Sen. Al Franken (D-MN), and Sessions’s answer. Instead it summarizes the exchange in a way that makes it seem that Sessions was asked if there was any contact at all between the campaign and representatives of the Russian government.

In fact, what Sessions was asked about was sustained, ongoing communications — a core accusation in the dubious “dossier.”

We spend a lot of time talking about the various pension ponzi schemes that will inevitably wreak havoc on the global financial system at some point in the not so distant future. That said, you should also be keeping an eye on so-called long-term-care (LTC) health insurance providers who, as Penn Treaty Network of America Insurance teaches us this morning, have been perpetuating a ponzi scheme of their own.

After eight full years of legal battles between state regulators, investors, and policyholders, Pennsylvania Court Judge Hannah Leavitt signed off on a plan Wednesday to liquidate Penn Treaty Network America Insurance and its affiliate, American Network Insurance, the largest such health insurance liquidation in history. The decision leaves solvent insurers, their owners, and customers to pick up the cost for more than 70% of the up to $4.6 billion in projected long-term-care claims expected for 76,000 aging Penn Treaty customers nationwide.

Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioners Teresa Miller said that after a grueling eight-year legal battle the companies' financial difficulties were deemed "too great to be remedied." Per the PA Insurance Department:

Insurance Commissioner Teresa Miller today announced the Commonwealth Court approval of petitions to liquidate Penn Treaty Network America Insurance Company and American Network Insurance Company, with policyholder claims to be paid through the state guaranty association system, subject to statutory limits and conditions.

"After a long and difficult eight-year legal process, the Court's decision to approve the liquidation recognizes the companies' financial difficulties are too great to be remedied, and that consumers are best protected through the state guaranty association system," Commissioner Miller said.

Mexican drug cartels are fueling the U.S. heroin epidemic, said FBI Director James Comey, who addressed residents and public safety officials in suburban Virginia.

Comey, who headlined community summit in Henrico County, said these cartels are continuing to saturate the country with waves of “highly, highly pure” heroin.

Comey was joined by Chuck Rosenberg, the acting administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Mexican cartels have cornered the heroin market in the U.S. with an increasingly low-cost and potent product, Comey said. He said traffickers have even sold their heroin at a loss in order to gain market share.

Instead of relying on production from South America, these cartels are ramping up production in Mexico, which cuts overhead costs.

The latest data from the DEA show dramatic increases in Mexican opium poppy cultivation.More

When Virginia Delegate Robert Marshall asked the state’s 133 local governments to provide numbers on non-citizens and jury pools, Loudoun County produced some hefty figures.

Between 2009 and 2014, the Washington, D.C., exurb of more than 350,000 residents had disqualified more than 9,000 of them for jury duty because they were not U.S. citizens.

Loudoun County jury pools come from two sources — voter registration lists and Department of Motor Vehicle driver’s license applications. The county’s 9,000 juror disqualifications means that a potentially significant number of non-citizens vote illegally in Virginia. It suggests a basis for President Trump’s assertion of illegal immigrants voting in November’s elections, though not necessarily by the “millions” he has claimed.

Virginia has become a political battleground state in each presidential election. It is now also a voter fraud battleground.

Kathleen Biden is making shocking claims about her estranged husband Hunter in divorce documents filed in Washington, D.C. Superior Court.

In a motion that was submitted just last month, Kathleen accuses Hunter of 'dissipating hundreds of thousands of dollars of marital funds' by 'spending extravagantly on his own interests' in the year since the two made the decision to formally separate while asking the court to freeze his assets.

Kathleen goes on to claim that these interests include 'drugs, alcohol, prostitutes, strip clubs and gifts for women with whom he had sexual relations.'

The motion later details another big purchase made by Hunter recently - a diamond.

'On or about February 17, 2017, Ms. Biden learned that Mr. Biden was in possession of a large diamond, on information and belief worth approximately $80,000,' states the motion.

'When Ms. Biden, through counsel, asked Mr. Biden to place the diamond in a safety deposit box accessible only to both parties together, Mr. Biden, through counsel, denied possession of the diamond.'

Hunter has now admitted to being in possession of the diamond according to the motion, which was filed just days before it was revealed that the son of former vice president Joe Biden was dating his brother Beau's widow Hallie.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) said Thursday there is no comparison between current Attorney General Jeff Sessions meeting twice with the Russian ambassador to the U.S. last year and former Attorney General Loretta Lynch meeting privately with Bill Clinton last year as the FBI investigated his wife's private email server.

Pelosi told reporters Thursday at a press conference that Sessions should resign for not disclosing his meetings with the Russian ambassador during his confirmation hearing to become attorney general.

Reporters asked Pelosi how the controversy surrounding the Sessions revelation compared to Lynch's private meeting with Bill Clinton on a plane as the FBI probed his wife's private server to see if she mishandled classified material.

Pelosi said the two situations are completely different, Townhall reported.

For Republicans who have been concerned that President Trump has not been specific about his policies and about where he wants to take the country, Tuesday night’s address to Congress and the nation was a welcome relief. For liberals, however, it was a problem precisely because he offered specifics.

Before the speech, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) repeated the familiar and overused claim that Trump wants tax cuts for wealthy Americans at the expense of the middle class. Is that the best he and his aging fellow Democrats can do? Re-runs should be limited to summer TV shows.

While the Democrats remain frozen in a time warp of their own making, Trump’s speech was focused on solutions and full of optimism for a change. Finally gone were the dark utterances of the campaign about the sad shape of the country. This time the country heard positive solutions, even when Trump mentioned nagging problems, such as violent crime in our cities. To address that issue, he has named a Department of Homeland Security task force.

To the probable surprise of the left, the president responded to criticism that he had not said much about recent attacks on Jewish cemeteries, saying “we are a country that stands united in condemning hate and evil in all of its very ugly forms.” He even referenced Black History Month, reminding his audience that while civil rights progress has been made “much remains to be done.” Democrats joined Republicans in applauding that line.

County Executive Bob Culver wants to hear from you. If you would like to share your opinion about the Volunteer Fire Department dividing from the City of Salisbury you can contact Bob at, bculver@wicomicocounty.org He's looking forward to hearing from you on this matter.

Character assassination has long been a spectator sport in Washington, D.C. Indeed, history buffs regale us with sordid tales of libel, slander and assorted other methods of reputational damage — committed by the Founding Fathers, no less!

Even our most revered leaders – Lincoln, FDR, Kennedy, and Reagan – engaged or employed surrogates to torch their political opponents and dissenting members of the fourth estate.

I'm in the habit of reminding audiences of such history whenever I hear a questioner bemoan the vitriol associated with today's political discourse. "Nothing much new here" is my typical assurance. But I may soon be forced to change my opinion. It is becoming more difficult to make the case for historical equivalence. Three circumstances unique to the Trump era are to blame.

The first concerns Trump's rhetoric. Our forty-fifth president does not pretend to be a conservative intellectual. He often speaks in simple sentences. Much of what he says is unscripted. He can be vindictive in chastising his opponents – even when wrong on the facts. And apologies for crossing the line are not easily given.

WASHINGTON, DC: Congressman Andy Harris (MD-01) released the following statement in response to President Trump’s address to Congress on February 28.

“President Trump delivered an exceptional address last night, and offered a bold, optimistic vision for the future of the United States. The President’s speech reminds us all that we must put America first. The government has a duty to protect and empower all Americans, a duty that was neglected by the previous administration. I am committed to working with President Trump and the rest of Congress to repair our nation’s economy and health care system, to secure our borders, and to enhance our national security.”

The Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center unveiled this Harriet Tubman oil painting by a local Cambridge artist, George Wright. The Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center will be open to the public March 11th.

HARRIET TUBMAN UNDERGROUND RAILROAD VISITOR CENTER OPENING

The grand opening for the Harriet Tubman Visitor Center in Cambridge will be open to the public on March 11th . This beautiful, new facility is an important asset for our community. I am proud, and honored, to have this center in our area.

The visitor center provides the opportunity to educate current and future generations about the courage and heroism of Mrs. Tubman. Here is an amazing venue to share her story as we honor the woman, who led countless to freedom, and devotedly served her country during one of America’s darkest times.

The new center provides us with the chance to celebrate our deep rich cultural heritage , review the story of a local daughter and ponder the implications for us all today. Visitors from across Maryland, the nation and other countries , will have the opportunity to explore the area and center to learn about our history on the Underground Railroad.

MARYLAND SECURES TRIPLE AAA BOND RATING

Nancy Kopp, Maryland State Treasurer, announced last week that all major national bond rating agencies have re-affirmed the State’s strong AAA bond rating. Currently, Maryland is one of the eleven states to hold AAA rating, the highest possible rating for states. This achievement allows taxpayers in Maryland to continue to save millions of dollars due to this lower interest rates prompted by these ratings. Maryland’s strong, financial management has helped secure these critical AAA ratings. There are still ongoing concerns about the long term liability of the pension fund.

KEEP THE DOOR OPEN ACT

Senate Bill 476 – Behavioral Health Community Providers – Keep the Door Open Act was heard this week. Senate Bill 476 requires the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH) to adjust the rate of reimbursement (in the 2019 proposed fiscal budget) for community providers. In recent years, behavioral health service providers have been adequately compensated for the services they provide. This bill is needed to attract and retain a qualified workforce in Maryland. All Marylanders deserve access to necessary behavioral health services – both mental health and substance use disorders. The bill as introduced has significant fiscal implications and hopefully will be worked out between the executive and legislative branches of government. The Governor has included additional funds in this year’s budget to address the Heroin and Opioid crisis.

It was great spending time with the Talbot County Legislative Page from St. Michaels High School, Will Rieck. Will has accepted his admissions offer and will attend the University of Michigan - Ann Harbor, LS&A Honors Program. Congratulations, Will!

BAY RESTORATION FUND UPDATE

Senate Bill 343 – Bay Restoration Fund – Eligible Costs legislation sparked a conversation regarding facilities that upgraded prior to July 1, 2013. Facilities that upgraded to enhanced nutrient removal prior to this did not receive any grant funding from the Bay Restoration Fund. I will be proposing a budget amendment to help municipalities who were unable to receive grant funding to be awarded a grant from the wastewater account of the Bay Restoration Fund.

Senate Bill 343 was cross-filed with Delegate Adams’ House Bill 384. This bill is received a favorable with amendment report for the House Environment and Transportation Committee and is expected to pass the House.

Senate Bill 266 was introduced and would require all new septic systems to utilize the Best Available Technology (BAT). This legislation is an attempt to bring back regulations, which Governor Hogan repealed, due to the cost. Under this requirement, homeowners would face $800-$1,300 in costs annually to maintain systems conforming to the new regulations. BAT systems, coupled with a mandatory additional expense for sprinkler systems, make starter homes in rural areas impossible to construct. I stand behind the Governor, and oppose this costly bill.

WASHINGTON, DC: Congressman Andy Harris (MD-01) released the following statement regarding President Trump’s Decision to Roll Back the Waters of the United States Rule.

“I applaud President Trump’s decision to roll back the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule. This rule was a classic example of government overreach, vastly expanding the power of the federal government over areas best regulated at the state and local level. The WOTUS rule would have imposed costly burdens on Eastern Shore farmers by expanding the definition of “navigable waters” to include federal control of drainage ditches and other small, temporary collections of water. In contrast, the new Executive Order will allow federal regulation of permanent, standing bodies of water with a continuous surface connection. Rolling back the WOTUS rule was a common sense decision that should have been made long ago by the previous administration.”

Nominations are being accepted for the 2016 Outstanding Public Health Leader award. This award is presented to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the public health of the citizens of Wicomico County. The winner will be announced at an awards ceremony on Tuesday, April 4, 2017 at the Fritz Health Center in Salisbury, Maryland.

Nominations can be submitted electronically at www.wicomicohealth.org or call (410) 334 – 3480 to obtain nomination forms. Nominations are due by Monday, March 27, 2017. Late submissions cannot be accepted.